Friday, December 14, 2012

Today is a bittersweet day at LeaderShape. Mike McRee will be leaving us today as he pursues a great opportunity at the Delta Upsilon Foundation. We could not be more excited for him as he continues his dedication and vision to impact the Greek community not only at DU, but for the entire Greek system. Mike will do amazing things there, no doubt.

Mike has been synonymous with LeaderShape for the past dozen years. From serving as a DJ, to sitting in the kissing booth, to doing the perfect cheer, he has done everything that has been asked of him and more. More precisely, he has done everything that needed to be done to move LeaderShape forward. LeaderShape is better for having Mike been on staff…much better. We will miss his music, his laugh, and his unwavering commitment to helping people lead with integrity and a healthy disregard for the impossible. Mike will continue to be a facilitator (we won't let him off the hook that easy), but today we celebrate his work on staff.

Mike's tagline in his email signature was the Aristotle quote that excellence is a habit. Through his habits, Mike has made LeaderShape excellent and we thank him for his service to our cause.

Friday, December 7, 2012

We live in a world where we want to quantify
everything.How many friends I have on
Facebook.How many steps I walked on the
pedometer.How many calories in that
double cheeseburger (do I really want to know?).We are bombarded with numbers and statistics
to the point that we truly can become immune to their impact.

However, numbers can help tell a story so let me share some
with you.Please really get what these
numbers represent and don’t take them lightly.It would be a mistake to do so.

80.In 2012, for the first time in LeaderShape’s
history, eighty sessions of The LeaderShape Institute were held from Doha,
Qatar to Toronto, Canada to Boston, Massachusetts, to Eugene, Oregon and dozens
of locations in between.Eighty
afternoons of reading Tomorrow’s Headlines, eighty opportunities to learn a
different perspective, eighty more moments to realize you still can make a
difference in a very complex world.Perhaps most importantly, we now have eighty other communities who
actually felt what a just, caring, thriving world feels like even if only for
six days.

4,068.So eighty sessions is the big story, but
there are 4,068 other stories that are more important.Over four thousand stories that were heard,
told, added to, and shared in a way that they perhaps were never done so
before.That number represents the total
number of participants who have attended The LeaderShape Institute so far in
2012 and we still have two more sessions this month.Each one of those participants came to their
session whether it be a national session or hosted by another organization with
an idea about leadership, many of them thinking that they have learned what it
means to lead prior to LeaderShape.We
believe that they all are better equipped to lead with integrity, adopt a
healthy disregard for the impossible, and create the kind of world we all want
to live in after leaving on Day Six.Those stories are all different and yet all the same.Stories of struggle, joy, confusion, and opportunity.We all look forward to hearing those stories
for years to come.

46,246.All of those stories are now blended with
graduates from years past to create the LeaderShape story.What a story that is.Those of you who have read Malcolm Gladwell are
familiar with the concept of the “tipping point.”The game I play from time to time is what
number of LeaderShape graduates will be the tipping point for achieving our
mission.Is it 46,247?Is it 50,000 which we will hit in 2013.Is it 100,000?When will we have reached the number that
leading with integrity is now the norm?I like playing this game because it gets more exciting every year.I may not now when it is going to happen, but
I know for sure that every year we are getting closer.Not a bad game to play…do you agree?

1. Finally, the
most important number has to be one.Bet
you saw that coming if you were paying attention.With all of these wonderful numbers this
year, they don’t mean anything if LeaderShape ever loses track of “the power of
one.”Each new participant, each new
staff member, each facilitator, each food service worker who serves us at a
session, each person that decides not to go to LeaderShape because they have
“more important things to do.”It is all
about the one. One conversation that
changes a mind.One idea that comes
during a long walk with your family cluster.One day when you decide to raise your game.One moment that defines a life.

We all must never lose sight that numbers are made up of a
bunch of “ones.”Don’t care how much
money you have; I care how you spend that one dollar.Don’t care how many leadership positions you
have held; I care about what you are doing in the one you hold now.Don’t care how many participants have gone
through your program; I care about whether one is different because of their
experience.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

LeaderShape, Inc. is an international, not-for-profit organization committed to developing more people who lead with integrity. The LeaderShape Institute, is an intensive six-day experience which is conducted on a national basis for participants from across the country. It is also conducted in partnership with universities and organizations from across the country and is highly regarded as an outstanding leadership development program.

Since the start of The LeaderShape Institute in 1986, more than 46,000 young adults have participated in this program. The LeaderShape Institute was acknowledged as an “exemplary program” by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. For more information, visit our web site: www.leadershape.org.

The Summer Program Coordinator serves as an important member of The LeaderShape Institute team. We will select two individuals to work in partnership in serving in this role. They will carry out logistical and conference management tasks which are crucial to the success of the program.The Summer Program Coordinators will work alongside the facilitators to help ensure success, while staying one step ahead of the curriculum so that all of the details are organized at the beginning of each program piece.In collaboration with the LeaderShape Staff, the Summer Program Coordinators will carry out the following activities:

Program Coordination & Management.Coordination of the national sessions of The LeaderShape Institute requires strong administrative abilities and great attention to detail.Activities include assistance with session preparation, participant registration, and participant communication.This will involve time spent working at the LeaderShape home office and time spent staying on location during sessions of The LeaderShape Institute.

Program Planning & Organization.Assist with the planning of the national sessions of The LeaderShape Institute by working with vendors and other organizations that play a major role in the overall success of each session. Coordinate travel arrangements and accommodations for participants and facilitators. Assist facilitators during the session by preparing materials for daily activities.Work in collaboration with facilitators to ensure that participants have a high quality experience while attending The LeaderShape Institute.

Participant Relations.Communicate the importance of preparing for The LeaderShape Institute by reviewing expectations and answering questions regarding the national sessions. Work with participants to ensure that they have a high quality experience.

The ideal candidate for this position will be a graduate student in Higher Education/Leadership Development or a related field. Dates for this position are May 28, 2013 through August 2, 2013 (approximately 10 weeks). This position will require relocating to Champaign, Illinois during this time and attending all of the national sessions of The LeaderShape Institute. The dates for the dates of the national sessions are as follows: June 9-14, 2013 (Tahoe City, CA), July 21-26, 2013 (Champaign, IL), July 28-August 2, 2013 (Atlanta, GA), and July 28-August 2, 2013 (Champaign, IL). A stipend and housing are provided and academic credit can be arranged with the graduate student’s host institution.

Please visit our website to apply. The deadline for submitting resumes for consideration is January 14, 2013.